February 13th 2008
From Self-Reliance to the Catered Life
The horizontal axis of our matrix represents the degree to which customers are willing to seek advice or help.
The self-reliant people, in the left quadrants, like to mow their own grass, but those on the right prefer to hire a maintenance service and free up their time for other tasks. In a restaurant, some prefer to help themselves at the buffet or use the take-out service, while others don’t mind waiting to be served at the table.
There’s more at work here than time pressure alone: Customers clearly occupy a range of attitudes, from do-it-myself independence to a heavy reliance on others. A supplier who confuses one type (”I’m just browsing; I’ll call you when I need help”) with the other (”Could you show me what’s available and help me make up my mind?”) does so at her peril.
In the process of purchasing, a customer’s decision to rely solely on himself or to leverage others depends mainly on how complex he perceives the decision will be. Continue Reading »
